


Helpless

by Iaintnosidekick



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, KaraMel, minor torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 21:32:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9143104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iaintnosidekick/pseuds/Iaintnosidekick
Summary: After Mon-el's restless night, he thinks going to DEO will calm his anxiety. However his fears are only realized when he cannot find the one person that can calm him down.





	1. Chapter 1

When Mon-el walked into the DEO, he did not expect to be met with the same uneasy feeling that had kept him up all night. From the moment he walked in through the glass doors to when he spotted Alex pacing around Winn, he was surrounded by the familiar air of uncertainty and confusion that had caused him to lie staring at the ceiling for the majority of the night. He had hoped coming to the DEO would have finally calmed his nerves, but when he was not greeted with smiles in the control room, his heart only grew heavier.

“Mon-el!”

Mon-el’s head pivoted to face Alex, who had broken her pacing and was now charging at him with all the force in the woman’s body directed at him. He was always impressed with the sheer strength such a seemingly small woman could impose on him and anyone she interacted with, but this time, instead of projecting her usual aura of authority, Mon-el could feel her own concern for the increasingly obvious lack of red in the room.

“Have you seen Kara?” she asked once she had reached him at the door.

“Uh… no,” he stuttered as she stole his question from his mouth. “No, I was hoping she was here.”

Alex nodded before turning away to stalk back toward where Winn sat in front of his computer. The look on her face and the way she pushed her hair back did not help calm Mon-el’s quickening heartbeat. He followed her into the room just as she began to explain — probably more for herself than for him.

“Kara didn’t show up to work this morning,” she began with her breath evident in her voice, “which doesn’t make any sense because she just told me that Snapper was breathing down her neck about this one story, so she would NOT miss work today.”

“No,” Mon-el agreed. “She told me last night that she was probably going to be busy working on that all day.”

“You saw Kara last night?” Alex’s attention snapped back to Mon-el with such intensity that Mon-el found himself taking a step back.

“Yeah, she came to the bar while I was working.”

“What time did she leave?” the woman pushed. “Did she say where she was going?”

“Woah,” Mon-el held up his hands to put some space between himself and her, “wait Alex, Kara isn’t missing. She’s probably just… out saving some cat from a tree or something.”

“No, she would have answered her comms when we-“

Suddenly, a high pitch noise came blasting out of Winn’s and every computer in the DEO. Everyone moved to cover their ears, but just as quickly as it came, it was replaced by an image of a blank mask on every screen.

“Cadmus…” Winn gasped, but no one heard because the image began to speak.

“The time to exterminate the infection raging across our planet has arrived,” the female voice blasted through the speakers. “These monsters of darkness have ravaged our home for too long because they have convinced us that they are gods not to be trifled with.”

As the voice spoke, Alex leaned down to Winn, and Mon-el could just make out her whisper. “Can you track the signal?”

“Uh….” Winn nodded his head and began to furiously type on the keyboard, but Mon-el’s attention was turned back to the screens.

“However,” it said before the video sputtered. A different image began to flash amongst the static of a dark figure. When the image finally settled, Mon-el could hear a switch being flicked, and a bright light illuminated the image to reveal Kara standing in a pitch black room. Mon-el's stomach dropped. “They are far from immortal.”

Alex said something sharply to Winn, but the blood pumping behind Mon-el’s ears became deafening at the sight of Kara. Despite the situation, she still held herself with all the strength and composure that she always possessed when she wore the Supergirl suit. Her golden curls were tangled all across her forehead, but they were pushed back to frame her hard stare back to someone behind the camera. The suit itself looked wrinkled and covered in dirt or dust, but Mon-el could not make out any rips or tears. In fact, Kara didn’t look like she was injured at all. If not for the situation, he could have thought she had just taken a hard fall into a mountain or desert. However, it was not Kara herself that made Mon-el grip the table so hard he felt it crack.

She was chained.

Kara looked just like the eagle she had shown him when she took him to the zoo. Then, she had told him that it was a symbol of freedom for the country, yet he couldn’t help but feel sad that it was trapped in a cage. He felt this feeling again at the sight of two thick silver chains clasped around Kara’s wrists extending out into the darkness. But it quickly festered into pure hatred when he saw, underneath her beautiful curls, was a third chain attached to a collar around her neck. It didn’t matter how bravely Kara held herself, the silver collar proved to the world that Cadmus had overpowered her and that now she was at their mercy.

“This creature has helped lull us into a false sense of security,” the voice boomed, “but she will just as easily destroy us if we stop worshipping her.”

Kara’s eyes suddenly flicked to follow something off screen, and her eyes widened for a second despite her pressed lips.

“But no more!”

The video feed began to glitch to a closer shot of Kara’s face, but now there was a gloved hand gripping her jaw. With another moment of static, Mon-el could barely make out a green object flash across the screen. The image cleared long enough for his heart to stop at the sight of a deep cut appearing on Kara’s face and blood beginning to drip down her cheek in gushes. Despite the obvious pain in her eyes, Kara was able to hold back any reaction beyond a sharp intake of air.

“Our salvation begins with her death.”

Mon-el's hand was turning white as he gripped the side of the table, and he watched in horror as the green object once again swung across the monitor. This time, however, the sound of a scream being forced out of Kara echoed throughout the entire room before the video cut back to the mask.

“Tonight we will take back our planet.”

The monitor went black, and the table snapped in half.


	2. Chapter 2

“Yes, I know Clark,” Alex said into her phone somewhere across the room. 

Mon-el was sitting in a chair with his arms supporting his head on a new table. The DEO exploded with commotion after the Cadmus feed, and J’onn had come in at some point, but he had basically ignored Mon-el beyond making him sit down where he would be out of the way. Alex was pacing again on the opposite side of the room as she spoke to Kara’s cousin. Mon-el knew if he focused enough, he would be able to make out the Kryptonian's words through the speaker, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It only brought up the memory of Kara talking him through how he was supposed to filter out all other noise and to focus on the small earpiece they had practiced on. He could still see the smile that bloomed across her face when he finally was able to tell her what it was saying and how her pride just radiated off of her. Normally, that memory would help him work to earn that pride again, but now it only left a weight in his chest. 

“No, we only know the signal came from within the area,” Alex said again with her hand resting on her hip. Mon-el thought she was holding up pretty well considering her sister had been abducted and was slated to be publically executed in less than a day. It was probably because she knew there were things she could do, while Mon-el could only sit helplessly in the corner. 

He hated feeling helpless. 

The past few months had been the best in his life because he finally felt like he was working towards something greater than himself. Kara had been training him nearly every day on how to control his powers and even had let him join her on a few softer missions. It had been amazing. The rush of stopping criminals and the joy he felt when someone actually called him a hero. Not to mention all the extra time he had been spending with Kara. If he had admired her before, now he couldn’t put into words what he felt for that woman. She had believed in him even before he had believed in himself, and she pushed him to be the person she knew he could be. Never in his life had someone put so much confidence in him. But now when she needed him, there was nothing he could do.  


Mon-el shook the thought out of his head. No, there had to be something he knew, something that could help Kara. His eyes found the ceiling as he thought about the night before. The last time he had seen Kara without a metal collar. 

He had been working the closing shift at the bar. The place was nearly empty with only one small group huddled together around a far table. Mon-el was tired from the sparring lesson Kara had put him through earlier in the day, but he didn’t mind it as he was wiping down the counters. That day he had actually been able to pin Kara for a bit before being thrown across the room. Despite the sore spot on his side, Mon-el still smiled at the memory as he recalled the surprised look Kara had given him under his weight. Even held on the floor, she still looked beautiful. 

“So,” an angelic voice said behind him, “can you make me a real club soda this time?”

Mon-el spun eagerly to see Kara leaning against the bar and flashing her gorgeous smile at him. To his surprise, she wasn’t wearing her usual work clothes but instead had on a light tan cardigan over a solid green t-shirt and black leggings. In fact, Mon-el thought it looked like something she would wear during one of her and Alex’s movie nights. Her thick locks were pulled back into a loose ponytail, but a few had slipped out to suggest that Kara had tried to tie them away as an afterthought. It would not have surprised Mon-el one bit if Kara had just rolled off her couch and decided to fly over to see him. Or at least that’s what he liked to think. 

“Actually,” he grinned before he reached under the counter to find a bottle of the fizzy drink. In the same motion, he reached for a glass and poured the perfect amount into it. “I can.” 

Mon-el smiled before sliding the glass to Kara, who caught it just before it could fly right off the counter. They both laughed at it for a moment, before Kara spoke into the glass. 

“Well, you seem to have gotten the hang of this,” she glanced up at Mon-el before taking a sip of her drink.

Mon-el nodded as he leaned on his side of the counter. “Yeah well, once you start, this ‘bartending’ thing isn’t so bad.” 

“Good,” she said while she moved to sit on a stool, “and with your improvement in training, I’d say you’re finally getting this Earth thing in general.”

His smile widened, and he added, “I had a good teacher.”  


When Kara only beamed brighter at him, Mon-el took a moment just to look at her. He could never describe just how happy the very sight of her made him. The closest he ever came was when comparing her to the sun after a long cold night. She just had a way about her that could brighten everything he saw in the world. When he looked at her, he could feel like he wasn’t alone on this foreign planet and that there was someone who actually cared for him. Kara made him feel like he was actually worth something, even if he knew he could never be worthy of her. 

“Hey Bar-keep!”

Mon-el jumped out of his reverie and looked across the room to see one of the customers from the group was shouting at him. 

“We need another round over here!”

With a sigh, Mon-el looked back at Kara who, to his surprise, looked slightly disappointed. He forced a smile and tapped the table before telling her, “I will be right back.”

“Take your time,” she said as he gathered up the table’s drinks. 

It didn’t take long to deliver the table’s rounds and flirt with a couple of the females in hopes for a larger tip. He didn’t think Kara had noticed, but when he got back to his post, he found Kara as white as a sheet.  


“Kara?” he asked quietly. When she didn’t respond, he waved his hand over her face and her eyes snapped up to his. Mon-el managed a smile but became concerned when she didn’t return one of her own. “Hey, you okay?”

Kara’s mouth opened slightly as if she wanted to say one thing, but when she spoke her head dipped as if she had changed her mind. 

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She looked up at him with a weak smile. “Sorry, I have to go.”  


When she began to stand, Mon-el’s heart quickened for a second. “Kara, wait.” 

She placed her hand on the counter to push herself away, but without thinking, Mon-el reached out and took it. When she froze, he thought he made a mistake, but then she looked up at him. The light that had shone so brightly just a moment ago had been snuffed out, and Mon-el could clearly see a hint of worry line her face. 

“It’s okay,” she said through a thin smile. 

“Kara,” Mon-el leaned across the bar to get as close to Kara as he could. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought her hand may have been unusually cold. “What’s going on?”

Instead of answering, Kara leaned back over the bar and kissed Mon-el. It was gentle and tasted exactly like Mon-el remembered. Sweet and soft. But there was something else familiar about the kiss that chilled Mon-el. There was a hint of finality that made him recall when he kissed her. On his death bed. 

“Kara?” he pulled away as the memory faded, but she began to speak before he could finish.

“I’m so proud of you,” her eyes stared so intently at his that he unintentionally squeezed her hand that was still in his grasp. “It makes me so happy to see you finally begin to understand your life here on earth.” 

This time, she squeezed his hand before she added, “stay safe.” 

When she slipped her hand out of his grasp, Mon-el found himself reaching out for it again, but Kara had moved away from the counter. She was walking away, and Mon-el’s mind couldn’t think fast enough. He was so thoroughly confused that he found himself speaking more to stop her than to say something. 

“Kara.”

She paused at the door. Mon-el’s heart paused as his mind search for something, anything, to say, but somehow, he could only think of, “are we still going to train tomorrow?”

She let out a small chuckle before she looked back at him. He must have looked so pitiful to her, desperate to make her stay, but she still looked at him like he was worth every moment in the world. “Probably not,” she told sadly, “I have a big story due tomorrow.” 

With that, she was gone. Out the door and leaving Mon-el numb and confused behind the counter. The rest of his shift was spent running through her words over and over again, trying to figure out what had happened. But none of it had made any sense. 

That was until now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the amazing feedback! I couldn't have asked for anything better for my first outing writing fanfiction. My hope is that I'll be able to post a chapter every two to three days but don't be too mad if it takes me a bit longer. I hope you all enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

The moment the camera turned off, the burning green rod left Kara’s side. Instead of being overwhelmed with relief like any other person would have in her situation, Kara was washed over with anger at her inability to contain her scream. From the moment she realized what was happening, she forced herself to keep as much of her dignity as possible – no matter what they did to her. She had no idea what they were going to do with that footage, but the last thing Kara wanted was for Cadmus to feel that they had stolen anything more than her freedom. But she had never been burnt before.

“What a beautiful performance.”

Kara’s head flashed up to see Lillian Luther appear out of the darkness and walk smugly toward her. The hot pain in Kara’s back was suddenly forgotten as the very sight of that woman pulsed molten anger through her veins.

“This is pointless,” Kara spat, ignoring the cut that was still dripping from her cheek. “Killing me won’t do anything but make me a martyr.”

Lillian was standing in front of Kara now, still sporting that disgusting smirk. She even tilted her head at Kara as if she found her words amusing. That small gesture made Kara want to rip her chains from the wall and use then to fling Lillian into orbit. There was never a moment that Kara didn’t know that Lillian saw her as some sort of humorous bug that she was eagerly waiting to squash beneath her heel.

“It adorable how you think you know my plans,” she said while obviously admiring the blood dripping down Kara’s face. “It is almost like you think you’re smarter than me.”

Without thinking, Kara lunged forward at the woman, but was of course held back by the alien chain that choked her. The motion only made Lillian’s amusement grow as she lifted her hand to assess the damage her Kryptonite knife had made. Kara flinched at her touch but kept her mouth shut to prevent herself from giving the woman any more pleasure.

“You really shouldn’t pick fights with people more intelligent than you,” she smirked as she admired Kara’s blood once again on her fingers. “It will only get you hurt.”

Satisfied, the witch left the dark room with Kara still chained. This was the first time she had been left alone, so she used the opportunity to test the limits of her restraints. If she leaned with all her weight to the side, she could perhaps get a few inches of space, but the most restricting aspect was the collar. That horrendous thing had been placed on her the moment she arrived at this forsaken place. It was made of the same nth metal as the chains, but it held much tighter against her neck than the clasps did around her wrist. With every breath, Kara was reminded of its presence and loathed how helpless it made her feel.

The only other time she had felt this helpless was when Mon-el had been shot by the same horrible person that had fashioned the collar. Up until that point, she had believed him to be just as bulletproof as her, but when she saw it instead caused him to collapse, her blood ran so cold it was hard to think. All she knew was that she couldn’t lose someone else she cared about, so she caved to Lillian’s demands.

Oh, Mon-el.

Last night, Kara didn’t really know why she had spontaneously decided to leave her sofa and fly all the way to the alien bar by herself. At some point during her flight, she decided it was because of her huge story that was due the next day or because Alex had canceled their sister night. But also, in the back of her head, she knew it was because she wanted to see Mon-el.

Their relationship had gotten rather complicated as of late. Of course they had solidified their friendship multiple times over, but there was a part of her that was beginning to want to push for something more. However, Kara was afraid she only thought these things because she saw him so much. They spent nearly every second of their free time either training, protecting the city, or teaching him about Earth’s culture. With all the times Kara had taken him to the movies, zoo, and other questionably date-like places, no one would have blamed Kara for growing a little attached to the Daxamite. Not to mention all the talks they had had about their home planets. They had passed the point of becoming comfortable with mourning their losses together, and Kara was worried her… feelings were nothing more than a byproduct of having someone to relate too.

But Kara wasn’t thinking about that when she stepped into the nearly empty bar. All she saw was Mon-el working behind the bar with his back turned away from her. There was no one in the galaxy that would not have noticed his strong back muscles outlining his shirt or how well it showed off his swimmer’s physique. The image of Mon-el on top of her earlier that day in training instantly crossed her mind, and she had to quickly walk toward him before she could blush.

“So,” she found herself saying before she had actually reached the bar. In an effort to seem more casual, she leaned against the bar and managed a more composed smile. “Can you make me a real club soda this time?”

When he turned, her heart skipped as she saw he was already smiling brightly at her. She had seen Mon-el at many different emotional places, but none of it could compare to when he smiled. Even though he was wearing a loose black t-shirt and some type of apron that had to have been worn by dozens of other people, that smile still made him look like he was royalty.

“Actually,” he said before disappearing under the counter for a moment. He came back up with a bottle and a cup which he poured into. “I can.”

Before Kara could reply, Mon-el pushed the drink across the counter, but he seemed to have given it too much force because Kara just barely caught it before it could fly right past her and onto the floor. Kara couldn’t help bust out into giggles as she gripped the glass, and looked up to see Mon-el was laughing as well. He looked so genuinely embarrassed about his sudden display of strength that Kara picked up the glass just to make him feel better.

“Well, you seem to have gotten the hang of this,” she said while she took a sip.

Mon-el shrugged before leaning against his side of the bar. He was so close to her that she could smell the mint in his gum when he spoke. “Yeah well, once you start, this ‘bartending’ thing isn’t so bad.”

“Good,” Kara leaned back a bit to put a little distance between them, but still found herself sitting down as to not to leave. “And with your improvement in training, I’d say you’re finally getting this Earth thing in general.”

Obviously, as she said this, Mon-el’s smile widened, but he still added, “I had a good teacher.”

Kara felt herself straighten a little as her smile grew. Of course Mon-el would say something like that. He was always so sweet and made sure to say something nice every time she saw him. And since they saw each other a lot, that was no small feat. Mon-el always spoke so highly of her that she was afraid that he felt he could never reach her standards. He was always reminding her how great she was, but he also spoke often of how worthless he felt he was. But Mon-el was not worthless. He may have guilt for abandoning his planet, but he was also kind, hardworking, and willing to change for the better. Kara knew how easy it could have been for Mon-el to just give up and lead a life on Earth similar to the one he lived on Daxam, but instead, he pushed to be a better person and to be the hero Kara could already see in him.

“Hey, Bar-keep! We need another round over here!”

It wasn’t until someone yelled for Mon-el that Kara realized that she had just been staring at him. They both had just lost themselves in each other’s gaze, but when Mon-el turned away, she found herself instantly missing it.

He glanced back at her and gave her a quick smile. “I will be right back.”

“Take your time,” she called as he began to work with the bottles. It actually fascinated Kara how quickly Mon-el had become so good at mixing drinks. She smiled to herself as she silently wished he had picked up their training as quickly.

“How cute.”

Kara jumped. Turning, she looked for the source of the words but was utterly shocked to find no one even remotely around her. For a second, she thought maybe she had just imagined the voice, but then it spoke again.

“One moment, you were laying peacefully on your couch, and the next, you’re flying full-speed to see your Daxamite friend.”

Gripping the counter, Kara was about to stand when the voice’s next move stopped her in her tracks.

“Kara, if you make one more move, I’m going to have to kill him.”

Kara’s blood ran cold. Someone was obviously talking to her at a frequency that only she could hear, but they were talking to her. Kara. Not Supergirl. Worse still, she recognized the voice. It was the same voice that called her like this before.

“Luther,” she said, more as a gasp than an actual word.

“I cannot hear you, Kara Danvers, but I can see you.” Kara sat up straight with the hairs on the back of her neck. “Now, listen to me carefully. When Mon-el comes back, you are going to say good-bye and tell him that you’ll see him tomorrow. Then, you are going to leave and get in the black van parked directly outside. If you don’t do exactly as I say, that little dot on Mon-el is going to become very messy.”

Her head spun toward Mon-el and saw in horror that there was a small red dot placed directly on his head. It followed him everywhere he walked and never left the spot that would have killed him with one shot.

“Do not tell him where you are going, and I won’t have to hurt him.”

“Kara?”

Mon-el’s hand appeared as a waver over her face, and she instantly made eye contact with him. He was standing directly in front of her and was looking at her with so much concern, but all she could see was the red dot on the side of his head. It disappeared momentarily, but Kara knew whoever was behind it was still watching.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked with a small smile, trying to reassure her.

Kara was suddenly very flushed and afraid. No. Not again. She couldn’t lose someone else. Mon-el had come too far to be killed by the vengeful hand of Lillian Luther. She had already put one bullet in his leg; Kara wasn’t going to let her put one in his head. But, that meant she was playing right into her hand. Who knows what she wanted, but in the moment, Kara didn’t care. She just had to make sure Mon-el would be safe.

So she said, “Yeah I’m fine,” before she stood up and continued, “sorry, I have to go.”

Not wanting to meet his eyes, Kara held onto the table as she began to go, but-

“Kara, wait!”

Mon-el took her hand.

When Kara looked back at Mon-el, she just about broke into tears. He had to have been so confused and probably a little hurt at her sudden change in character, but instead he only looked at her with all the love and concern any girl would hope to see. Probably even more as his grip was only soft and displayed no hint of a command. Only hope.

“It’s okay,” she told him even though she herself didn’t believe it.

Mon-el’s eyebrows creased before he leaned as close to her as the counter allowed it. It broke her heart to confuse him so, but then she remembered the dot. “Kara, what’s going on?”

Something… something in his eyes made up her mind and stepped back toward the counter and leaned over to kiss him. Too late she realized all of her thoughts and inner conflicts were wrong and that she did like him. Not just as a friend, but as someone she wanted to stay on the couch with. Someone she wanted to hold her and spend late nights talking about nothing. There, kissing him, was the most right thing she had felt in a long time. But just as she had relaxed into him, Mon-el pulled away more wide-eyed than before.

“Kara?”

“I’m so proud of you,” she blurted out to silence him. She needed to say something before she left. Whatever Cadmus had planned was nothing good, so she had to say something in case she would

never be able to say anything else. “It makes me so happy to see you finally begin to understand your life here on Earth. Stay safe.”

She had to turn away as her voice caught on the last words. When she took back her hand, she immediately missed his and walked quickly toward the door. She was just about to step out when Mon-el called out one more time.

“Kara.”

Although she stopped, she couldn’t look back at him. So she stood at the door, frozen in anticipation for Mon-el last words to her.

“Are we still going to train tomorrow?”

A genuine smile cracked over Kara’s face at the innocence of the question. If not to only make him feel better, she looked back one more time to tell him.

“Probably not. I have a big story due tomorrow.”

Before he could say anything else or before Kara could change her mind, she walked out the door. She immediately saw the van and made herself hold herself a little taller. If she was going to give herself to Cadmus, it was going to be with pride, and with the knowledge that Mon-el was going to be safe.

A loud bang shocked Kara out of her memories and moved her attention to where Lillian had disappeared. Another figure was stalking toward her, but even in the dark Kara could make out the sound of metal clanging and a large red circle growing larger.

The real Hank Henshaw appeared from the darkness and, with an evil grin, he held up a phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait time but my editor can only move so fast! Thanks again for all the love you've been sending (I enjoy every comment you leave!) and I hope you've enjoyed this so far!


	4. Chapter 4

“I got a call from the prison,” Alex told J’onn as she entered the control room. Mon-el was still by himself, but he had moved closer to Winn’s desk. “Turns out Metallo’s partner was found dead this morning. He was ripped apart, and his Kryptonite core was missing.”

“Well, that explains how Cadmus got their hands on more Kryptonite,” J’onn said before leaning over Winn to look at his screen. “Any luck tracing that video feed?”

“Nope,” Winn sighed. “They must have routed that thing through 6 different satellites and 15 other towers. Following that thing would be like trying to find your old VHS cable in a mess of wires.”

“What other choice do we have, Mr. Scott?” J’onn asked, obviously not amused.

“Well, I could go over the video itself and see if any background information could help us.”

“The only images shown were a digital mask and a black room.”

“Well, by the time I could finally trace the thing, it would be too late.”

Mon-el’s pocket began to buzz. It had to be that weird communication block that Kara had given him a couple of weeks ago. Of course, he knew that it was really called a cell phone, but Kara had laughed so hard the first time he had called it that, he refused to call it anything else. Mon-el almost smiled at the thought when he saw caller ID.

“It’s Kara!” he shouted as he leapt up from his chair. The screen displayed a picture of him and Kara smiling with a dog they had met in the park. Kara had made him pick pictures for everyone when they were setting it up. She thought he chose that because he liked that animal, but really it was because Kara looked absolutely beautiful in it.

“What!?”

Alex was next to him staring at the phone before Mon-el could even blink. Mon-el’s grip on it tightened as he tried to imagine how Kara could have been able to call him. “What do I do?”

“Winn, set up a tracer,” J’onn ordered before turning toward Mon-el. “Answer it, but no matter who is on the other end, you have to keep them talking.”

Mon-el nodded, and he turned back to the device. Unintentionally, he held his breath as he answered it.

“Hello?”

The silence on the other end was excruciating. It wasn’t because it was actually quiet but because he could hear movement. The sound had some static, but he could definitely make out the sound of someone going still before taking a breath.

“Mon-el?”

He nearly dropped the phone. It was her. Actually her. With the same angelic voice that had awoken him after years lost. He was almost lost for words at the sheer thought of being able to speak with her again, but then he remembered the sight of her chains.

“Kara?” he managed despite his quickened heart rate. “Kara, is that you?”

She paused for an agonizing amount of time. Mon-el could almost feel her thinking, and from the pause, he knew that it was a risky decision.

“Mon-el,” she spoke with both relief and urgency. “Don’t listen to them Mon-el.” There was a commotion on the other end. “Mon-el, don’t do anything they say!” Her voice was further away, but just before Mon-el could find his words, he heard her scream.

“Kara!” Mon-el’s heart was pumping so much blood that he had to hold onto a chair. There was a loud bang as Kara’s phone was probably dropped, and he could hear the sound of Kara’s chains rattling. Mon-el heard another painful sound from Kara before another voice crept out of the speaker.

“Hello, Mon-el.”

Mon-el’s fists balled, and he nearly broke another piece of DEO furniture. He knew this voice. He heard this voice every single day asking about his progress and encouraging him to go out into the field more. However, that man was standing right in front of him.

“Hank Henshaw,” Mon-el spat, unable to hold back his contempt.

The half-man actually had the gall to chuckle across the phone. “Sorry you two couldn’t talk longer. But Kara here didn’t keep her promise.” Somewhere in the distance, Mon-el heard Kara cry out again.

“Stop that!” Mon-el shouted back, “what have you done to Kara!”

“Oh, she’s just becoming familiar with the near melting point of a Kryptonite rod.”

“I swear, if you hurt her-“

“She’s going to have a piece of Kryptonite stuck in her head if you don’t listen carefully.”

Whatever words Mon-el was going to say dried up in his mouth. Henshaw displayed no amusement in Mon-el’s silence, but somehow Mon-el knew he was smiling somewhere across the line.

“We want the list of every alien known to the DEO,” he said coldly, “and we want insurance that the DEO will not make any attempt to contact them.”

“What?” Mon-el looked up at Alex who had obviously heard the demand, “Are you insane? The DEO-“

“Will do it or Supergirl will be found floating in the river tomorrow morning.”

When the called was severed, Mon-el must have looked like a ghost. He- he was not prepared to take the demands of the people holding Kara’s life hostage. Never in his life had he imagined being helpless on the other side of a call where Kara was being forced to scream. He was always helpless when Kara needed him.

“Well?”

Mon-el looked up expecting to answer Alex’s question but was relieved to see her turned away towards Winn. She hardly seemed bothered by what she had heard over Winn’s speakers. Again, Mon-el longed for her strong will and composure.

“I got it!” Winn shouted. “The signal came from a warehouse just on the edge of the desert.”

“I’ll get a team together.”

“Hold on, Alex.”

Everyone gawked at J’onn even suggesting that they not rush off to save Kara. Mon-el could not imagine why he would delay her rescue for even a moment, but it was Alex that lashed out at the Martian first.

“What?” she demanded with her tone sharp. “J’onn, Kara doesn’t have a second to ‘hold on’.”

“The demand,” J’onn continued, ignoring Alex’s attack. “It was incredibly impractical to ask for. Even if they are holding Supergirl, they know that we would never hand over a list of every other alien on the planet.”

“So, why ask for it?” Winn asked.

“It was for Kara to hear,” J’onn replied without a doubt in his tone. “That entire call was to provoke an emotional response from us by having us listen to Kara in pain.”

“It sure worked,” Mon-el muttered but didn’t think anyone heard.

“Henshaw wanted us to trace the call and charge over there half-cocked and directly into some kind of trap.”

“So, what are we supposed to do?” Alex demanded, obviously not comforted by J’onn’s insight. “We can’t just leave her there.”

“We’re not going to.”

The booming voice called everyone’s attention, and Mon-el almost couldn’t believe his eyes. There was a man, a very large man, standing just on the edge of the control center wearing Kara’s family crest. The stories Kara had told him came flooding back, and all Mon-el could do was stand in awe at the Kryptonian. He was taken so off guard actually that his name escaped him, until Winn, unable to withhold his own amazement, shouted it out.

“Superman!”


	5. Chapter 5

“I think that’ll do nicely, Mr. Henshaw.”

Kara nearly threw her arms out of socket she was tugging at the chains so hard. The monstrous excuse for a man was still waving that burning Kryptonite tip in front of her face and grinning widely. At least, that’s what she thought he was doing. The pain had blurred her vision to the point that she could really only make out his form. Her side was sheared into a dripping gash, and there was a hole in her suit where Henshaw had set it on fire just over her collar bone. Despite getting the screams he had wanted for his little call to Mon-el, it had seemed Henshaw was having too much fun continuing to poke Kara. If she had been human, Kara’s skin under the clasps and collar would have been rubbed raw. But Kara hadn’t broken. Oh no, she would not give Henshaw that satisfaction.

“You sure?” Henshaw asked the Luther that had appeared next to him. “I don’t think I roughed up that pretty face enough.”

“It will do,” the shadow of Lillian assured. Even with dulled senses, Kara could still feel the woman examining every aspect of Kara’s agony with satisfaction. The shrew must have dreamed of finally seeing Kara so wounded and bloody that she couldn’t even hold her own head up. “Company should be arriving soon, so we need to move her before they begin their little rescue mission.”

Despite her defeated look, Kara’s ears perked up.

“Whatever you say, Ms. Luther.”

Henshaw moved to unlock the clasp around Kara’s left wrist, and in a moment’s decision, she let herself fall limp. It hurt worse than anticipated. Her wounds hitting the cold floor almost sizzled at the contrasting temperature, and the remaining chain tugged her slightly off center. But she held in any sign of discomfort. If this was going to work, she had to do everything perfectly.

“Mr. Henshaw,” Luther sighed above her, “I thought I told you to keep her conscious.”

“Guess I was having too much fun.”

Henshaw stepped closer to where Kara had landed and snatched her wrist from under blood-tipped hair. The chains clattered loudly when they fell from her limp wrist. If Kara hadn’t been fairly lucid, she might have flinched at the man’s hard touch, but the pain in her side overshadowed anything his tight grip could inflict. But when he unceremoniously pushed her onto her back, it was only because of her tangled hair falling over the face that her grimace was not revealed. After a few moments of Henshaw’s hands being uncomfortably close to her neck, Kara finally heard the collar click open.

“Just wake her up in time for the grand finale,” Lillian instructed as Kara’s arms were being tugged.

“Of course,” Henshaw assured as he had halfway lifted Kara off the floor, “Wouldn’t want her to miss her own-“

With all the energy remaining in her body, Kara pushed up off the ground to give her fist an extreme amount of momentum when it made direct contact with Henshaw’s metal face. There was a satisfying crunching sound as his face plate bent inward before hurling the man into the shocked Luther, and they both disappeared into the darkness.

Kara immediately booked it toward where every person that she had seen came and went from. It was pitch black and Kara’s body screamed at the movement, but she knew she had to keep moving. She had to get out before Mon-el and the entire DEO could fall for Cadmus’s dirty trick. She was not going to let Lillian Luther trap Mon-el, who was no doubt already rushing half-cocked to save her, in some sick twisted game of hers. He had come too far.

Eventually, Kara did make contact with a metal door which flew off its hinges the moment her shoulder grazed it. Compared to the nth metal, the door felt like tissue paper, and she barreled past without even noticing the guards she knocked aside. Somewhere behind her, she heard an angry Henshaw yell something, but all Kara could focus on was the set of stairs she saw at the end of the hall. Even in her state, Kara still believed she could fly up and straight through the roof to freedom. She didn’t think she could actually get very far, but if she could just put enough distance between her and Cadmus and maybe even find a phone, she could stop the DEO from engaging. At least then Mon-el would be safe from Luther’s murderous lead bullets.

When she got to the base of the stairs, there was a great commotion coming from where Kara had just escaped. Without looking, Kara jumped up in the air, once again ignoring her pain. Floors zoomed past in a medium speed as her strength had not fully returned. She was just bracing herself for eruption out of the roof when there was a loud gunshot. 

The heat in her side was quickly forgotten as an extreme fire exploded through her cape and into her back. Kara could feel the bullet wedge itself into her shoulder blade and steal all the upward momentum she had worked so hard for. Instead of blasting through the roof, Kara hit it hard only to dent it before beginning to fall back down. It didn’t take long for her to hit the ground and break through its solid concrete. The next slab she hit was more solid, and everything went black for Kara.

While the rod had just caused pain, the Kryptonite bullet pulsed and sucked Kara’s energy like a leech. It couldn’t have been any larger than a pebble, but laying in the rubble of the destroyed floor, Kara had the thought that she was going to die. Alone. In the basement of her enemy’s prison. Knowing she was bait to kill her friends and family. In a moment of despair, Kara thought of Mon-el running toward her body, thinking he could still save her. But then, only when he saw he was too late, Lillian Luther would appear and shoot him dead next to her.

The vision shocked Kara back to reality. Somewhere through the pain, she heard Henshaw shouting to shoot, and only by sheer instinct was Kara able to leap out of the rubble before a hail of bullets fell from the hole above her. She immediately collapsed outside the ring as the bullet consumed another chunk of her energy from her shoulder. There was more shouting above her, but instead of more gunshots, there was a loud bang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for all your comments and kudos! I'm so happy you enjoy my story and that you've been waiting patiently for each chapter. This one was a little short but just wait for next chapter! It'll be worth it!


	6. Chapter 6

Mon-el and Superman broke down the large warehouse door only to be faced with a huge army of Cadmus soldiers. Mon-el didn’t even have time to be excited about his and Superman’s combined strength before all the soldiers began to fire their weapons. Not wanting to find out if Luther had fitted her soldiers with lead bullets, Mon-el raced into the hanger before they could properly aim at him. The room was sparsely filled with crates of what seemed to be either weapons or ammunition and scattered to the sides was an assortment of armored vehicles. Mon-el quickly ducked behind one of these before assessing the room any further. A cry rang out from the soldiers as Mon-el peeked through the vehicle’s windows. The Daxamite watched in awe as the Kryptonian sped through the air like a bullet to knock back an entire row of soldiers before a rocket was launched directly at him. Instead of dodging the heavy artillery as Mon-el would have done, Superman aimed his heat vision directly into the rocket’s path so that it exploded just before it could hit him. Part of Mon-el wanted to stay hidden and watch Superman take down the entire arm, but then Alex spoke into his earpiece.

“Mon-el, you okay?”

“Yeah,” Mon-el replied as he turned back to gauge the back end of the room. It stretched deep into the building, but even with his enhanced vision, there was nothing that seemed to be able to house a Kryptonian. 

“She’s not in here.”

“There’s more rooms behind the far wall,” Alex explained. The gunfire became louder as Alex and her team began to engage Cadmus. “Look for a door.”

“Uh,” Mon-el’s eyes darted around the roof frantically looking for something that indicated an exit. His eye was caught by a hanging metal platform that seemed to line the entire ceiling and ended suddenly at a small grey shape. “Yeah, up on the hanging path.”

“Catwalk,” Alex corrected before she paused to shoot someone. “Can you get up there?”

Instead of answering, Mon-el took a deep breath and burst from his hiding place. He sprinted across the hanger praying to Rao that he wouldn’t get hit. Kara and he had worked on this multiple times. Early in his training, it became clear Mon-el wouldn’t be able to fly like Kara, but he was wickedly fast and had the potential to jump small buildings. They had spent hours in the CATCO stairwell leaping from floor to floor to build his strength. He still hadn’t mastered it yet, but Kara was always so patient despite his mistakes and was never slow to encourage him. He could still see her face the first time he had cleared five floors. She was beaming with pride and couldn’t stop smiling as if he had just saved the entire world. With that image swimming in his head, Mon-el leapt up with all his might, sending him directly up and into the wall of the hanger. He staggered back disoriented from the impact but was greatly relieved to see despite his misstep that he had still managed to land on the catwalk.

“I’m headed toward the door,” he yelled just before a hail of bullets began to ricochet off the metal railings. Mon-el’s hands reacted before he could think to protect his face, but the metal clanking just as quickly stopped when a shadow fell over him. Still running, he glanced over to see Superman literally covering him as he flew on the other side of the railings.

“We’ve got this,” the Kryptonian said as he glanced over his shoulder to meet Mon-el’s stare. The two shared a hard glare as they recognized their own fears within each other’s eyes. “Find Kara.”  
The Daxamite nodded knowingly and sprinted as fast as he could to the door and nearly ripped it off its hinges as he thrusted it open. Once inside, Mon-el found himself in a smaller room, but it was very dark compared to the naturally lit one he had just left. The only light came from a doorless opening in front of him and a single lamp hanging from the ceiling to his left. More gently this time, Mon-el dropped from the walkway and made his way to the small area lit by the lamp. However, as he was walking his foot caught on something metallic, and he nearly tripped over it. Mon-el paused with surprise and bent down to pick it up. When he held it up to the light, he gasped as he recognized it as the collar that had been around Kara’s neck during the video. A shiver ran down his spine at the memory, but he became oddly confident he was going in the right direction. He tossed it to the side and headed back toward the open entrance.

As he approached it however, he realized that it was not just some random hole in the wall as what had once been its doors were lying abandoned just beyond the room. Once he had passed through, Mon-el found himself in a wide hall lit similarly to the hanger. He had just seen a stairwell down on one end when something tackled him from behind.

Huge arms wrapped around Mon-el’s torso as he was launched back into the room he had just stepped through, but this time, he and his attacker created their own entrance through the wall. The force of their impact separated them, and Mon-el was sent tumbling into the chains while his attacker disappeared into the darkness. All his fights with Kara came flooding back to Mon-el telling him to leap up and hold up his fists toward his attacker. He couldn’t see anything not directly lit by the open wall. Anxious, Mon-el instead began to frantically search the room for some sign of his attacker. He could just hear the person moving somewhere in front of him, but it didn’t… sound right. What should have been footsteps almost sounded metallic. Like pieces rubbing within an engine. Everything finally dawned on him just as Hank Henshaw stepped into the light.

“Hello, Mon-el,” the cyborg spat, not even bothering to move into a fighting stance. “Come to die with Supergirl?”

Rage suddenly surged through Mon-el and he found himself swinging at Henshaw’s most human side of his face. Henshaw, however, caught it without even turning his head. Before Mon-el could even react, Henshaw twisted his wrist before spinning his body and flinging Mon-el back into the hall through one of the holes. Mon-el’s back slammed into the far wall nearly knocking the air out of his lungs. He had just regained his composer when Henshaw’s fist came flying toward Mon-el’s nose. Without thinking, he ducked to the side letting the fist crack the wall instead of his face. Adrenaline was rushing through Mon-el’s veins as he lifted both of his legs and kicked Henshaw as hard as he could square in the chest. The human only slid back a few feet, but it gave Mon-el enough time to run a few steps before finally landing a hit directly to the jaw.

When the man staggered back, Mon-el actually felt a bit of glee as he actually thought he had caused some damage. However, Henshaw recovered far more quickly than Mon-el though possible and before Mon-el could react, Henshaw rushed at him and grabbed him by the neck. Mon-el struggled against the cyborg as he was lifted in the air.

“You think you can save her, boy?” he taunted, “You will be dead before you can even-“

By some blue-clothed miracle, Henshaw was swept out from under Mon-el and launched all the way down the hall and out through yet another wall. Now being able to breathe, Mon-el began to cough while also trying to regain his balance. To his surprise, he felt himself being steadied by the intense grip of Superman on his shoulder.

“You okay, Mon-el?” Clark asked.

Mon-el nodded before standing up straight and suddenly feeling very small compared to the Kryptonian. Clark squeezed his shoulder one more time before turning his attention back toward the Henshaw-shaped hole in the wall.

“I’ll deal with this guy.”

When he glanced back at Mon-el, he nodded again. “Great, thanks.”

They both raced away from each other, and Mon-el could hear Henshaw roar out in the distance. He had just made it to the stairwell only to find yet another gaping hole in the floor. In any other situation, Mon-el would have commented on how devastating these fights were to architecture, however something led him to assume that Kara had to have made this one. Mon-el took another deep breath before he jumped into it.

Mon-el landed in some type of heating facility with big fire tanks and a whole lot of piping. He recognized the rubble around him as the floor above along with some destroyed piping. To his surprise, he also noticed the bullet shells littered about the place. He willed himself to not imagine what could have happened and pushed forward into the web of pipes. It was hard to see around all the large tubes despite the area being well lit. An eerie sensation ran through Mon-el as he crept slowly about the room trying desperately to make as little noise as possible. The room hummed with motion as the machines worked to pump air throughout the building, but over them Mon-el still heard the sound of a body falling. Mon-el’s heart leapt at the noise, and he forgot everything Kara had ever told him about being conscious before he rushed past down the row in to see Kara collapsed in the center of the floor.

She was lying on her side curled up as if trying to hold herself. A grimace held her eyes closed, but Mon-el must have been loud because they immediately flashed up to him. When their gazes met, Mon-el nearly cried out at the sheer pain reflecting within her blue eyes. Never in his life had he ever been able to feel so much pain just through someone’s facial expressions. It was heartbreaking to see and infuriating to imagine how Kara had come to this state. Unable to contain himself, Mon-el was just about to run her when he heard a click.

Everything slowed down for Mon-el. Five feet away, he broke his eyes away from Kara to see Lillian Luther emerging from the machinery with a gun raised. So many emotions swam in Mon-el’s mind as it raced to comprehend what exactly was going on. But, when he watched her turn the barrel toward Kara, his body made the decision for him. With speed he had never achieved before, Mon-el leapt over Kara right as Lillian pulled the trigger.

A dull pain ripped through Mon-el’s lower abdomen. Instead of letting out a yell or maybe even slowing down, all Mon-el could think of was how light this wound hurt. Compared to the one that the same woman had inflicted on his leg, Mon-el hardly noticed the foreign object lodged below his skin. It in no way halted his assault on the Luther, and he found himself smacking the gun out of her hand and shoving her back into a large pipe. Steam began to hiss out of a crack, and it burned his face at the touch. He staggered back instinctively, but when he opened his eyes again the woman was nowhere in sight. He was just about to rush back into the webbing when-

“Mon-el.”

Mon-el spun on his heels and was shocked to see Kara trying to stand. She could hardly push herself an inch off the ground with her violently shaking arms. Immediately forgetting Luther, Mon-el rushed back to Kara.

“Hey, hey,” he shushed as he knelt next to her. Trying to be as gentle as he could, he steadied one of her arms with one hand while reaching around to hold her side with the other. However, when his fingertips came into contact with a startlingly tender bit of flesh, Kara let out a small whine. Afraid he’d hurt her more, Mon-el carefully turned her body so that her back laid across his lap while his hand supported her head. “Sorry.”

“You came,” Kara’s voice sounded more like a painful whisper which even her small, brave smile could not hide. “You idiot.”

Her words forced a worried smile from Mon-el despite the pool of blood that began to form underneath them. Even in her horrifically weak state, Kara still managed to look at Mon-el as if he was the most important person in the world. Pain shone through her eyes, but she somehow still managed to display her own concern for his wellbeing. He couldn’t help but push aside her tangled hair from her face and let his thumb rest against her check. To his surprise, she closed her eyes as she leaned into his palm as if comforted by his simple touch. Mon-el thought he was going to cry right there in front of her.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” he assured her just above a whisper.

Before she could speak again, Mon-el gently took each of her hands around his neck to give her something to hold. Trying to be as gentle as possible, Mon-el lifted Kara off of the floor and let her lean against his chest as he stood.

“You’re shot,” she whispered into his shirt as her head fell onto it. Her breath warmed his skin and distracted him from the discomfort her weight caused his wound.

“I’ll be fine,” Mon-el assured as he set off toward the hole he had fallen from. He was shocked with how light she felt in his arms, and he could feel something wet soaking into the sleeve under her shoulders. She looked so weak with her eyes closed and pressed into his body, but when she gripped the collar of his shirt, he found it strangely comforting.

“You stupid Daxamite.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I could ever properly express how much I appreciate all of your kudos and comments! It just makes my day every single time I get an email with ones of your lovely thoughts about my writing and story. Don't be afraid to give me some pointers or maybe even suggestions on what to do next. Next chapter will hopefully be up soon!


	7. Chapter 7

It was a bright warmth that finally brought Kara back to consciousness. She still felt tired and broken, but somehow the unseen heat was able to gently soothe her out of the dark reaches of her mind and slowly help her wake. The first sense to awaken was that of feeling. Her skin drank up the warmth as if she was being bathed in it. It soaked down into her bones and worked to wash away the still-present ache of her wounds. Never in her life had she felt so at peace. 

“We have to wait for her body to heal itself,” a calming voice seeped into Kara’s ears. It began as a whisper, but with each word, Kara’s ears began to capture the words more clearly. “That means being patient.”

“It feels like she’s been under forever.”

When the second voice met Kara’s ears, it actually forced her muscles to create a smile. Thus the movement caused a ripple effect across all of Kara’s muscles as they restored their function. Before her eyes could even flutter for a second time, her sister’s voice rung out again at a much louder volume.

“She’s waking up!”

Everything was blurry when Kara finally was able to keep her heavy eyes open. It took a moment before they focused to reveal not only Alex sitting next to her bed but also J’onn at the end with his arms crossed. Winn was standing next to him trying to control the nervous ticks in his hands, and even Clark was leaning against the wall behind Alex. They were all staring at her with such an intensity that Kara was searching for something profound to say. They had to have been so upset after all the worry she put them through. There had to be something she could say to soothe their anxiety, but as if on cue, they instead all erupted  
before she could even think of a single word.

“Kara!”

Alex’s arms were around Kara’s head so fast that she couldn’t even see the others cheer or smile in relief. Somewhere, she thought she heard Winn sniffle, or maybe it was J’onn, but Alex’s arms were so warm around Kara, all other senses became overwhelmed. So much was happening at once that Kara found herself gripping Alex’s hand just to steady herself. The motion seemed so familiar. As if it was the last thing she remembered before…. 

The memory of the last hand she held burst to the front of her mind, and suddenly she felt she was being suffocated. 

“Mon-el,” she said so quietly only Alex heard her. Everything that had happened came shooting across her vision. Falling into the basement. Mon-el appearing after she fell. Lillian shooting him as he rushed to cover her. The gush of blood that had soaked into his shirt. A sudden force of panic began to buzz in Kara’s veins with such vigor that she unintentionally began to struggle under her sister’s embrace. 

“Hey,” Alex pulled away as she felt Kara begin to shake. She steadied her sister with both hands on her shoulders and a warm smile. “Hey, it’s okay. Mon-el’s fine.”

“But-” Kara’s mind was still racing. The gun. The blood. “He was shot. The bullet was-”

“Not that bad, actually.”

His voice rang across the room like a cool breeze over a desert and pushed Kara’s sight toward it. Until that moment, Kara hadn’t even noticed that the bed next to her was even occupied, let alone held a smiling Mon-el. He was sat upright with legs dangling over the bed to face her. Kara’s eyes couldn’t help but glaze over every aspect of him, looking for something indicating he was only saying that to make her feel better. A lot of skin was exposed as his chest wasn’t covered by anything except a few layers of bandages wrapping around his abdomen. His hands were bruised along with a few patches on his shoulders and neck. He definitely looked like he had been in a fight, but beyond that, he looked really good for someone who had been shot. He was also smiling more brightly than Kara had even seen, and she was the one that had shown him a dog for the first time. 

“I guess Kryptonite isn’t as bad as you said,” Mon-el explained smirking. “I mean, it can still hurt me but it’s no lead.”

“You were very lucky,” J’onn corrected with a layer of disapproval. “You had no idea that bullet wouldn’t have killed you instantly.”

“Well, it didn’t,” Clark said which tore Kara’s attention. He managed a small smile as he approached Kara and took one of her hands. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been shot,” she admitted which made everyone chuckle. “Were you there too?”

“Yeah,” he said softly, obviously trying to hide how much it hurt him to see her like this. “Alex called me in, and that’s how we were able to catch Cadmus by surprise. We were able to take the entire facility and even bring Hank Henshaw into custody.” 

Kara tried to smile to make him feel better, but she couldn’t ignore the obvious ‘but’ in Clark's tone. “Luther?”

When Clark’s face dropped, it was Alex that answered. “She managed to escape, but we still have men out searching.”

Kara nodded before a loud buzzing noise assaulted her still sensitive ears. When she accidently winced all eyes shot to Winn who had begun to vigorously dig through his pockets. 

“Sorry, sorry,” he said before pulling out his phone and silencing the alarm. “Uh, Superman, there’s an emergency over in a Metropolis. I didn’t know if, uh-“

Clark turned his gaze back at Kara with a sigh. “Duty calls.” He leaned down and gently kissed her on the forehead. “Stay safe okay?”

“Yeah,” she said as she squeezed its hand reassuringly. 

Clark gave her one last smile before turning his attention to the other individual in a medical bed. “And you, Mon-el.” Clark walked over to him and towered over the Daxamite. Kara nearly chuckled at the sheer size difference. In any other situation, she would have pointed it out, but she stopped herself when she noticed Mon-el trying to holding himself taller against her cousin. “Thank you for saving my cousin.”

With a loud clap, Clark slapped his hand onto Mon-el’s encasing it in a hard handshake. By Mon-el face alone Kara could tell his hand stung, but he bravely held it in with a modest smile. “Of course, uh, Superman.”

“Please, call me Clark,” Kara’s cousin insisted with a smile. “And when you’re feeling up to it, you should visit me in Metropolis. I have a feeling we will have a lot to talk about.” 

Obviously confused at the Kryptonian's words, Mon-el just gave an awkward smile before Clark gave everyone else a small goodbye and raced off down the hall. 

“We should all get back to work,” J’onn claimed once Superman was gone. “I don’t know if you heard, but there is still a Luther on the loose.”

“On it,” Alex agreed before giving Kara one last look. “We’re going to find her Kara.” 

“I know,” she concurred with a soft smile to assure her sister. 

“You two are going to stay here under these lights until I say otherwise,” J’onn ordered as he left while mostly eyeing Mon-el, “Elisa should be here soon to look over your injuries and run a few test.”

Kara smiled at the Martian before he too was out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Two chapters within 24 hours? I don't have my life together well enough for that ^.^ I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Last chapter is coming soon!


	8. Epilogue

“Mon-el?”

His eyes flashed open as if he hadn’t just been deep into dream. He didn’t know when he had fallen asleep or what exactly he had been dreaming of, but he didn’t really care once he had been awoken by Kara’s small voice. He had no idea how he had heard her; she had hardly spoken above a whisper since she had woken up. Elisa said the Kryptonite had affected her breathing, but that a few nights under the artificial yellow lights should be able to heal it and any other damage she sustained. At the time, it was hard for Mon-el to believe as he remembered how weak Kara had been by the time he had been able to get her back to the DEO. It had taken them what felt like forever to remove the Kryptonite bullet, but once they had, her body seemed to put itself back together in front of their eyes. 

Not that he had actually been there for the surgery. He got his own little operation which everyone seemed amazed at. Apparently, while Kryptonite could still penetrate his skin, the bullet was slowed tremendously and only cut through two inches of Mon-el’s flesh. The scientist seemed amazed, but Mon-el had been too anxious to hear about Kara to care all that much. 

“You awake?”

Mon-el’s eyes began to adjust to the odd lighting of the room. The only lights on were the yellow sun lamps mounted directly over his and Kara’s medical beds. It made it hard to make out anything not directly illuminated by their lamps, but he could hear Kara shift slightly under her covers as if uncomfortable. 

“Yeah,” Mon-el finally said. He instantly began to imagine Kara tossing and turning, unable to sleep due to some sort of pain, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered into the dark. 

Mon-el found himself sitting up anyway. He could just make out Kara’s form lying flat on her bed. The lamp created long shadows to extend across her face, distorting her features, but he could still see that her eyebrows were knitted closer together, forming that little crinkle he often teased her for. 

“I just… realized I never said thank you.” 

Despite Kara not being able to see it, Mon-el found himself smiling. “You don’t have to thank me Kara. You’ve saved me too many times to count.” 

“I know, but…,” she whispered sounding faintly amused, but still paused for a moment before taking a shaky breath. “I had never felt….” Her voice caught. “Helpless before.” 

It may have been his imagination, but Mon-el thought he heard Kara sniff. He did watch her lift an arm up to her face, however, it only pushed back a few locks of hair before resting next to her head on the pillow. She stared up at the ceiling for a while before continuing. 

“I mean, I had been in danger before. There have been so many times that I didn’t think I was going to make it out… but this was the first time I wasn’t able to do something about it. Cadmus wasn’t just going to kill me, they….” This time, Mon-el definitely heard a Kara sniff and even watched her wipe something away from her eyes. “If you hadn’t come, I’d be dead.” 

It felt wrong watching her at such a venerable moment, so Mon-el laid back down to stare up the ceiling. Mon-el tried to say something that could comfort Kara, but he couldn’t think of anything. He couldn’t imagine how broken Kara must have felt after not only being kidnapped and shot but also having her imprisonment paraded around the city like a war trophy. She must have known what was going to happen even back at the bar. Those blue eyes of hers had been so sad when she had left that night, even when she had kissed him.

“Is that why you kissed me?” Mon-el asked before he could nervously talk himself out of it. “Because you thought you were going to die?”

The pause afterward was more painful his bandaged wound. There was only the buzz of the lamp to drown out the terrified thoughts racing in Mon-el’s head. But he was actually surprised when a smile was evident in Kara’s voice. 

“Yes, but I think it’s more complicated than that.” 

“Oh,” Mon-el felt a cold sweat break out as well as his nerves. “Does that, uh… mean you meant it?”

“Yeah,” her certainty made Mon-el’s heart skip a beat. “Yeah, I did.” 

Mon-el’s racing heart pushed a giddy smile onto his face. He had only dreamed of this moment, and even then he’d never thought it would actually happen. Mon-el had never believed he was worthy of Kara, and he still didn’t, but maybe if she saw some worth in him, maybe he could too. 

“I, uh…,” he began while messing with the edge of his bandages, “Winn said that on Earth, courtships start with a dinner or something.”

Kara let out such a genuine laugh that she had to catch her breath before replying. “Do you want to court me, Mon-el of Daxam?”

“I- well, yes,” he confirmed, unable to look away from the ceiling. “But only if you want to….” 

Her giggles lit up the room with warmth as Mon-el heard her shift underneath her covers. “Then you’ll have a few days to figure out Earthly courtship rituals before I’ll be up for any type of courting activies. But just so you know, it’s called dating.” 

Mon-el’s heart nearly flew out of his chest. “I’ll be ready.”

They laid in comfortable silence for a while. All Mon-el could think of was Kara being back to her amazing self, smiling at him across from a nice dinner table. He didn’t know much about Earth relationships, but he was going to work hard to understand them and make it as perfect as possible for Kara. She deserved that and more after what she had gone through. 

“Hey, Kara?” He found himself saying.

“Yeah?”

“It’s okay if you were scared. I won’t tell Alex.” 

Kara let out one more laugh. “Thanks, Mon-el.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you go guys. My very first fanfiction! I have to say it was so much fun writing for all of you and getting to create something for more than myself to enjoy. All of your comments and love have been absolutely amazing and I can never ever express to you all how much they have meant to me. Something else I can never do is thank my Beta enough. Only she can muddle through my disgusting grammar and carve out the masterpiece you see before you. Honestly, guys, you have no idea how much the woman has helped me not only with commas but with giving me the confidence to even post it. Lenora, you are fantastic. Also, because this went to well, I'm thinking of making a habit of making these stories. If any of you have any suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments or message me on my Tumblr @iaintnosidekick (I also have some stick figure drabbles there if you need something to tide you over). Again, thank you all for joining me on this outing and I hope to continue giving something back to this wonderful fandom of ours ^.^ God bless you all!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta novalenora! Couldn't have done this without you! Hope you all like it so far! I'll upload the next part soon!


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